


End Of Era's

by Spyrofury767



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: A lot of headcannons and OCs, Alternate Universe - Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), BAMF Lapis, Multi, Redeemed!Jasper, True War AU, Ugh, like really, so many, this is gonna be a ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-16 14:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8106433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spyrofury767/pseuds/Spyrofury767
Summary: The Homeworld Gems accelerated their attacks. A group of new warriors here to help.New tactics, new pain, new hate. Fear and chaos rule all.True War has begun again.





	1. Peridot's Reformation - By Garnet

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to End of Era's!
> 
> Note to all y'all, this will contain OCs, headcannons, and a load of other BS that you might not want to read. TAGS WILL CHANGE, and shit will happen. 
> 
> Prepare yourself.
> 
> This is a TRUE WAR fan fiction. The Homeworld gems are actually attacking seriously and violently.

I still remember the day. The day that Lapis called Steven on Skype and told him that Peridot had asked how to draw.

 

Apparently, after a quick sketches lesson, Peridot took a pad of paper and a pencil and vanished to the upper parts of the barn.

 

I let out a small, knowing hum as Steven chatted with the blue gem herself on his laptop. He elbowed me in the lower torso, and pointed at the screen. 

 

A wild-haired Lapis in a bright orange sweater gave a smile and waved at the screen. I gave a thumbs up, until I heard a crash in the background.

 

“Ah, shit!” A familiar, sort of gravelly voice filtered through the speakers. 

 

“Hey, Jasper, watch your language!” Lapis demanded, whipping around so fast that her hood fell off. “I've got Steven on the phone.”

 

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t drop the stupid oil barrels with some help?!” The large orange gem shouted at the rafters. 

 

“Nope, sorry… Working.” Peridot’s voice came out of nowhere, making Steven laugh. 

 

“Is she drawing on the rafters?” He asked, leaning into the screen a bit. 

 

“Well…” Lapis looked up. “She found a sheet of steel and sliced it into pieces, then some cord of some kind, and a massive blanket. She made a hammock that Jasper can’t access!” Lapis turned back to the screen, laughing. 

 

“I can hear from here, Lapis!” Peridot’s voice was faint through the weak speakers of the laptop. “And don’t insult my supported floatation system!” Then there was a small few  _ clink-clinks _ like wood on concrete, and Peridot swore.

 

“Language!” Lapis barked.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry that I'm 17.69 feet off the ground and I dropped the teal-blue-grey-that-kinda-looks-like-death pencil on the floor!” Peridot replied, before a loud crinkling came from the roof. 

 

“For the last time, it’s called ‘rift’!” Lapis stood up, turning away from the screen briefly. “And don’t bother coming down, I'll grab it for you.” Lapis picked up the pencil from the floor and threw it back up, off screen.

 

“Thanks.” Peridot said, and the crinkling vanished. 

 

“Well, you three are getting along well.” I remarked, at last deciding to say anything. 

 

“We try. Jasper… Jeez, I think quartzes in general like to eat. Honestly, she eats like, double what Amethyst does. And I didn't know that was possible.” She shook her head. 

 

“Well, at least you’re getting along.” Steven encouraged, eyes shining joyfully.

 

“Yeah, it’s nice. As much as I wasn't sure about Jasper living with us… She… Well,” Lapis lowered her voice. “she apologized for what she did before, and sounded genuine. She’s never mentioned fusion to me or Peridot, and… Never shown any aggression to either of us. We’re… Finally becoming friends.” Lapis looked slightly down and to her side, a look of slight concern and yet, a tiny smile gracing her features. I smiled as well.  _ A bad fusion… Finally making up. Hm.  _ I felt the little bit of hope in my gems for all three of them grow, knowing that they would make it together. “Oh, and Jasper has been doing that stuff you told her to, Garnet. No corruption relapses.” Lapis reported. 

 

“That’s great!” Steven exclaimed as I gave a thumbs up. 

 

“Yeah, she can be a little twitchy at times, but then Peridot makes her take a nap and we’re all good.” Lapis grinned, and shifted around. “Darn skirt…” She cursed. 

 

“Well, thanks for calling,” A gem’s face appeared behind Lapis, who glanced back and laughed. Jasper’s face was half covered in a black goop, and her hair was stained in it. “but I need to borrow her. She can call you back later. C’mon Lapis, I need your assistance…” Jasper muttered, and got up, heading for the other side of the barn. 

 

“Ok. See yah Steven! Bye~!” She dragged out the ‘e’ before hanging up the call. 

 

“Aw, they’re getting along so well!” Steven grinned at me. “Will they be ok?”

 

“Steven, it doesn't take future vision to see that they’ll be ok.” I said knowingly. Steven nodded. 

 

“Well, thanks for telling me!” He closed the laptop with a final  _ snap _ and placed it on the table. “I'm going into town! Bye Garnet!” He called as he literally sprinted out the door. 

 

“Bye Steven. Love you!” I called after him. Once I heard his footsteps hit the sand, I closed my main eyes and focused on my inner self. 

 

Ruby was laying on some kind of… Couch? Mind platform? That looked reletively comfortable and Sapphire was just reading. 

 

_ <Ruby, Garnet is looking inside again.> _ Sapphire reminded the other gem. 

 

_ <wh’redadanger?> _ Ruby’s head shot off the platform to glance around sleepily. 

 

_ <Not danger, Garnet.> _ Sapphire sighed. 

 

_ <Y-yeah… _ > Ruby yawned.  _ <I knew that…> _

 

I made a small, hum like laugh, knowing that there was nothing important happening in their world. Then, I stood up and wandered for my room. 

 

Hilariously, I, a fusion, felt like I could use a nap. Maybe something to quiet my head. 

 

Or maybe the fact that Sapphire had curled around Ruby and they were both napping. That worked too.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

When I actually woke up next to Pearl knocking on my door, I felt almost like something warm and pleasant was squishing me back on to the bench, clouding my mind and making me want nothing more than to lay back down and go back to sleep. It took me a disturbingly long period of time to realize that feeling was sleepiness. 

 

_ Ugh, how does Steven function in the mornings? _ I thought. 

 

_ <He doesn’t, Garnet. It takes him like, 20 minutes to get out of bed.> _ Sapphire replied. 

 

_ Ugh. _ I stated, shaking my head and trying to clear my mind. I stood up, and walked to the door, then opened it. Pearl was standing in front of it, but with a rather calm look to her, at least until she looked at something just to the left of my face. Pearl made a strange noise that sounded sort of like laughter, but choked. Amethyst, sitting on the couch holding a… I wasn't awake enough to tell what it was, looked over, took one glance and burst out laughing. Hard. 

 

“O-O-OH MY STARS GARNET!!” She cackled, clutching her abdomen and leaning forward, until she fell onto the ground, literally choking with laughter. “WHAT H-HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?!” She howled, the last words she could get out before fully collapsing into raucous laughter. 

 

I reached up my hand, patting the cube shaped hair I had made for the last many reformations. Nothing strange appeared to be wrong with it, other than a little frizzy. 

 

“O-other side…” Pearl stammered through giggles. 

 

I reached up to my left side this time, and noticed my hair wasn't where it was supposed to be. I kept feeling for it, not entirely clueing in until I marched to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. 

 

If there has been one time I have ever been truly surprised in my life, now would be it. 

 

The hair on my left side was pressed into a strange oval shape that had obviously been the side I was sleeping on.

 

Ruby and Sapphire nearly defused laughing so hard, but kept me together. 

 

_ <O-oh my stars, Saphy…> _ Ruby laughed, feeling like she was rolling around in my head.

 

_ <G-garnet, are you al-alright?!> _ Sapphire sounded less interested in my wellbeing and more a question of ‘can you get this out?’

 

_ I'm fine. _ I sighed as I grabbed a brush and smoothed down the block, quickly fixing the cube shape. Then I yawned, a rather new sensation, and stretched my arms above my head. I shoved my visor out of the way and rubbed my eyes, blinking all three before shutting the third and sliding the visor back on.  _ Note to selves, don’t let fusions nap without adequate wake up time. _ She thought at them before walking out of the bathroom, where Amethyst was just recovering from her fit. 

 

“W-wow Garnet… I didn't know your hair could do that!” She snickered. 

 

“...It can.” I stated. “I'm going to do some perimeter checks.” I headed for the door and walked out. 

 

“...How did she know that’s what I wanted?” Pearl asked, cocking her head. Amethyst rolled her eyes and walked out as well. “Oh right… Future vision.”

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

It was about 15 minutes into my patrol when I noticed a short, familiar green gem run up to me.

 

“Gar… Net…” She panted, having exhausted her form running here. Placing her hands on her knees, then holding up one finger in a ‘wait’ signal. “...I need to ask a favor.” She straightened, and stared at me through her rounded, clear visor. 

 

“Alright Peridot.” I responded. Peridot took a deep breath, closing and opening her eyes, then stated;

 

“I need you to poof me.”

 

I hadn't used future vision today except for this morning, to find out what Pearl wanted. This was a slight shock, but not too big of one, since I had seen this path before. I knew she’d ask someone to poof her, I just had no idea why. “...No.” I responded. 

 

Peridot glared at me, looking like she might blow up, then she took another deep breath. “Alright.” She hissed, then stormed away, shoulders pulled up and forward into an angry hunch. 

 

I rolled my eyes at the gem and resumed my perimeter check. I’ll admit, it was really tempting to just find out what Peridot wanted, but it was sometimes nice to be surprised too. I decided to let this one go, without my meddling. 

 

Some ten minutes later, Amethyst ran over to me, looking panicked. “GARNETDON’TDOANYFAVORSFORPERIDOT!!” She shouted, and I blinked in mild amusement. 

 

“Why not, Amethyst?”

 

“She wants someone to poof her!!” Amethyst gasped.

 

“Wait… Did she ask you as well?” I tilted my head, now really tempted. 

 

“Umm, yeah! Wait… If she asked you… And wouldn't ask Steven… Jasper and Lapis would’ve said no…” Amethyst listed out loud and I did in my head. 

 

“Pearl!” We both shouted at once, and sprinted for the house, racing up the steps, and Amethyst slammed open the door. “PEARLDON’TDOPERIDOTANYFA-” She cut off.

 

There, Pearl stood in the kitchen, holding a bright green gem in her one hand and a long trident in the other. Pearl gazed at the gem with a look of immense satisfaction, before setting it on the counter. “Don’t do Peridot any what?” She asked. 

 

“You POOFED HER?!?” Amethyst shouted, grabbing Peridot off the counter, cradling the other small gem. 

 

“Well, she did ask me t-”

 

“That doesn't mean you LISTEN to her!!” Amethyst gripped the gem in one hand and shot into Steven’s loft, ruffling through the junk to get to his laptop. The instant she opened it, 78 Skype notifications loaded, displaying 78 missed calls from Lapis Lazuli. 

 

And then another one came in. 

 

Amethyst answered it with out hesitation. 

 

“Amethyst?! Oh thank stars, please tell me you’ve seen Peri! She left about an hour ago an-” Lapis blurted out, only to be interrupted. 

 

“WHERE THE HECK IS SHE!?!” Jasper’s shout cut off Lapis as the orange, tiger-striped gem appeared in the background.

 

“She did a stupid! She got Pearl to poof her!!” Amethyst screeched in return.

 

“She WHAT?!?!?” Jasper and Lapis yelled at the same time. I winced, then turned as the door opened. 

 

“Umm, what’s going on..?” Connie asked as she looked around the utter chaos that was going on in the room. 

 

“Umm… Gem stuff?” Steven replied unsurely, but it sure sounded like a question directed at me. 

 

Amethyst replied instead. “Pearl poofed Peridot!” 

 

“What?!” Steven gasped in shock, staring at Pearl.

 

“She asked me to!” Pearl defended, looking away.

 

“You didn’t have to listen!” Connie made a sweeping gesture.

 

“O-ok, Jasper and I will be there right away! W-we need to know why!” Lapis stuttered, hugging herself in her orange sweater. 

 

“Uh… Lapis…?” Jasper began. “...Could you fly up and see what’s in her hammock?” 

 

“Sure Jasper. We’ll be there soon.” Lapis nodded to Amethyst, then hung up.

 

“Oh my stars, Pearl…” I shook my head as Amethyst held onto Peridot’s gem tightly, pressing her fist to her chest while Steven and Connie went to comfort her. Amethyst and Peridot were best friends, and this was outright strange.

 

It took all of 20 minutes for Lapis to arrive, carrying Jasper who was holding a filing box. “I think I might know what happened!” The bright orange gem called as Lapis dropped her, and the pair landed, one gracefully and one in a diminutive crater of sand, near us. Lapis instantly ran to Amethyst, who showed her the poofed Peridot, and just sat there hugging with the small gem between them.

 

“What, Jasper?” I asked, stepping forward as the larger gem ripped off the lid and threw it some 10 feet away. 

 

Connie and Steven crowded in as Jasper pulled out design after design of outfits, from jumpsuits to t-shirts, gloves and not, hair and other things of Peridot herself. Dozens and dozens of pages on the stuff. They weren't the best, but they were pretty great, actually. Good enough to recognize. Pearl peeked into the huddle as well. 

 

“I think she was making a new Crystal Gems outfit for herself!” Jasper proclaimed. “And she found one, but… Needed to reform.” She flipped through the pages, but each one was marked over and over with crosses and colors in red, with angry looking notes of ‘NO NO NO!’ And ‘I wouldn’t be caught dead in this’. “But… I can't find any of them without these notes on them!” She huffed, flinging some of the papers around after angrily pointing to the furious Crimson lettering on the pages. 

 

Now, I opened my third eye, catching a glimpse of Peridot’s new outfit. I made a satisfied ‘hm’ before walking to Amethyst and Lapis, calmly taking Peridot from between them, and walking inside with her while they joined the others in trying to piece together what her outfit would be. 

 

It would be stunning.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

It was four days later when Peridot reformed. I'll admit it, I may have had something to do with the fact that everyone was in the room at the right time. 

 

But it was the spectral light show that the small gem gave off that really made this gorgeous. She reformed to her basic shape first, then her diamond shaped hair split at the two edges, dropping down to form a star. She touched the floor, still glowing like a small star, as color began to fade in. 

 

Her boots were basically the same color as always, but this time, they ended in yellow stars that covered the top of them. A few inches of skin showed before a pair of dark, ocean teal grey color that I wondered if it was ‘Rift’, shorts appeared, the tops cut off by a medium-dark green bodysuit with a small ruffle at the neck. At the center, at Peridot’s waist, a spiral of the ocean teal surrounded her stomach. At the center of her chest, a yellow star. Her hair appeared next, a light green-teal, in a star shape. Her visor was no longer rounded, rather, pointed and tipped, but still transparent. Then, her arms. Her right arm was bare, nothing on the shoulder or wrist. Then her left arm had a long, long fingerless glove that came to just below her armpit, a star-shaped hole in the back of the hand that showed her skin. The most amazing thing was that the teal pieces of the outfit, excluding her hair, shimmered like they were metallic. 

 

I almost laughed out loud. She had taken pieces of each of our outfits to make a design that was so perfectly peridot, yet so teamed. The teal was Lapis, too easy to see. The Stars were Steven’s mark, and now always would be. The spiral around her waist and chest was Jasper, through and through. The shorts were Pearl’s, entirely new. The stars at her knees were so Amethyst it hurt.

 

And the visor. 

 

It took me a few seconds to see, the way it was slightly darker, a little more reflective than normal. Also, it wasn't rounded at the tips anymore. It was sharp, pointed.

 

We all stared in shock, and Peridot, standing on the kitchen counter, didn't move for a few seconds either. Then she blinked, and noticed something at the bottom of her eye. Slowly, she reached up, and touched her visor at the new, spiked tip. She let out a disbelieving huff, smiling, and looked at her hands, first the front, then the back. She looked herself entirely over, her smile only growing. 

 

“I-I… I did it!” She whispered joyfully. “IT WORKED!!” She shrieked, leaping for joy and falling gracelessly off the counter and onto the floor, hugging herself and half laughing, half crying. None of us dared move, not wanting to shatter this moment for her. I at first wondered why she was crying, then I realized; She didn't have powers normally. She might not have been expecting to ever be able to change shape and form. “I-I d-d-did it…” She whimpered happily, her tear-streaked grin reminding me of the time I decided to stay Garnet. 

 

“Peri…” Lapis crept over slowly, marvelling at the style and look of the whole suit. “It’s… Beautiful.” She smiled.

 

“I-it worked…” Peridot whispered, her wide smile a little tearful still. 

 

“Yes.” I stated with my own smile. “It worked.”

 

Even so, I remembered back to what I had seen. A dark cloud, rapidly heading for us, blocking my sight. I knew, deep in my soul, that something was coming, even if I tried to stop it. 

 

I can’t always see everything. Or change anything. 

 

And it hurts.


	2. Lapis’ Change - By Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis' reformation goes... well, about as well as you'd think.

I never got along well with the Homeworld gems.

 

Ok, admitted, I myself am from Homeworld, but I mean the newest ones. 

 

I mean Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, and Jasper. 

 

Lapis and Peridot in particular, because Jasper was overly polite and kind since she was unpoofed and started to live with us. 

 

Well, not us, but Lapis and Peridot anyway. 

 

I thought that might be worrying at first, because of their history together, but it turned out ok. I guess that Amethyst was right, for once. 

 

She said that she didn't even need Garnet’s future vision to see that they’d be ok, she just could tell. I gave her a small smile and went back to making supper for Steven. 

 

“‘Ey yo P!” A shout jolted me out of my thoughts, as I searched around frantically for its source. “Ugh, Pearl, at the door!” 

 

I turned, and there sat a rather wet looking Amethyst, in cat form. Her long fur was plastered to her thin body, soaking her to the core.

 

“Amethyst!” I yelped, rushing to the door to let the soaking gem in. She quickly headed to the couch and buried herself in about sixteen layers of blanket before I could get a towel to dry her off. “Come on Amethyst, shift out of cat, and we’ll dry you off.” I said, approaching the pile with a towel. There was a flash, and the pile of blanket expanded about three times. Pearl uncovered the rather cold purple gem and proceeded to rub her hair dry. 

 

“Ow, Pearl! Can you not frizz it too much?” She batted me away, and ran her hands through it, trying to smooth it. I backed off, letting Amethyst handle the hair. 

 

“What happened?” I demanded. I keep getting told that I am literally the mom of this group, but I don't see it. 

 

“Lapis was playing with the waves and well, I got in the way. She dragged me up on shore and I wandered back here.” Amethyst shrugged. I gave her a semi concerned glare and went back to my cleaning as she leaned back on the couch with a pained sigh.

 

Lapis I rarely had a problem with, except for her brutal attitude toward anyone but Peridot, Steven, Amethyst and sometimes Jasper. I didn't get how she could like Jasper, but not me or Garnet! It was definitely strange. She was almost like a teenage human, while they were complete and total butts half the time. 

 

But that aside, I actually didn't have that much problem with the Homeworld set.

 

Admitted, I should also stop calling them the Homeworld gems. They aren't really part of Homeworld anymore, in particular Peridot, who, at that second just happened to walk in the door and sit on the couch beside Amethyst, who tiredly leaned on the small green gem’s shoulder. 

 

“You took that wave like a champ.” Peridot remarked to what I figured by now was her best friend. 

 

“Yeah, thanks. It hurt, FYI.” Amethyst muttered tiredly. 

 

“It looked like it.” Peridot purred, flipping through something on her iPad. Amethyst let out a hum of agreement and looked at the screen through half-lidded eyes, watching whatever Peridot happened to be scrolling through. 

 

“...What is this about again?” Amethyst asked softly. I was starting to get concerned. Amethyst rarely spoke in quiet, tired tones and when she did something was often wrong. 

 

Or she was just tired, that too.

 

“Oh, it’s a Pierre/Percy fanfiction, post-apocalyptic. The camp got attacked and they wound up together, stuck in hiding from the Camp Counselor zombies.” Peridot stated like it was the most regular thing in the entire world. 

 

“...Who’s the writer?” Amethyst mumbled.

 

Peridot leaned back, putting one arm comfortingly around Amethyst’s shoulders, rested the iPad on her leg and scrolled down further with her thumb. “ThatFandomChick.” She answered. 

 

“She’s pretty good.” 

 

“I know right?”

 

I rolled my eyes. Those two had officially the strangest exchanges, which had now been reduced to Amethyst half-sleeping on Peridot’s shoulder while the green gem scrolled through the fanfiction they were reading. I finished cleaning up and sat on the couch with them, pulling out my huge puzzle, where all the pieces looked like interlocking earth creatures called lizards. It was actually really difficult. I set it on the table, removing the half assembled puzzle and pieces, beginning to create the picture again. 

 

It was a good hour before a giggly Steven and Lapis walked inside, followed by a half pissed half overjoyed Garnet. All three were soaking wet. 

 

“Steven!” I leapt off the couch, dropping a few pieces onto the table and waking Amethyst. 

 

“Wha-?” The smaller gem winced at the awakening, while Peridot gave me a disapproving glare through her almost-mirror visors for waking the purple gem. 

 

I grabbed the towel from earlier and bundled Steven into it, rubbing off his hair.

 

“Hey! Pearl…” He whined with a laugh, shoving me away. 

 

Garnet started, and grabbed the towel out of my hands, grabbing her visor off her face, and quickly wiped off the water from the polygonical, flat lenses. She gently handed the towel back to me. “Thanks.” She smiled quietly. 

 

“You’re welcome.” I said naturally, and handed the towel to Steven. He quickly started to dry off his own hair as Lapis wicked water off her dress, then hissed. 

 

“Ugh, I hate this stupid dress…” She grumbled, then blinked at Peridot. “Peri, come on. We gotta head home.” She nodded to me out of politeness, as Peridot stood up, skillfully leaning Amethyst on the side of the couch at the same time. 

 

“Thanks for hanging out!” Steven smiled, waving to them. As they walked out, they waved as well, right before Lapis formed her water wings and grabbed Peridot under the arms, the two of them shooting into the air and heading toward the barn. 

 

I rolled my eyes as Steven went to the loft to watch TV, and headed back to my puzzle. 

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

“‘ey P!” Amethyst called from the couch a few days later, where she was sitting on her phone. “Peridot and Lapis want us down at the cliffs.” She said, reading from her texts.

 

“What? Why?” I asked, turning from the breakfast dishes that I just finished cleaning.

 

“Didn’t say. Just said, ‘Don’t bring Steven.’ Something about a spotter?” She questioned. “Eh, whatever. Good excuse to get out of the house. C’mon P.” Amethyst waved to me. I rolled my eyes, but followed. 

 

A few minutes of silent walking later, and I saw a familiar green and shimmery teal shape, head upturned, staring at something in the sky. 

 

“Oh! Hello Peridot!” I called after the green gem, who jumped slightly and looked over, waving to us. 

 

“Hi!” She responded as we got closer, looking up again. Just for my own curiosity, I glanced up. I couldn’t see what she was looking at, though.

 

“What’cha looking at, Peri?” Amethyst asked, looking up as well. 

 

“Lapis.” Peridot pointed upward, sunlight glancing off her visor. I blinked in shock, and we both looked up with her. 

 

There, at an impossibly high height, was a tiny speck of deep blue, glittering and flickering in the light. 

 

“What th-” Amethyst gasped. “What’s she doing up there?!”

 

“...Falling.” Peridot’s voice was level and emotionless, her face grim.

 

“What?!” I burst out. I might not’ve been on the best terms with the water gem, but a fall from that height would poof her, or crack her again.

 

Wordlessly, Peridot handed me a note. It was in chicken scratch handwriting, but sort of legible. Amethyst leaned over my shoulder. 

 

“What?! She wants to reform too?!” Amethyst gasped out. I had no idea how she had gotten that from this mess, all I saw were the words ‘fly’, ‘height’, ‘poof’ and ‘neon’. 

 

“She wanted us here to make sure she didn't crack afterward.” Peridot shrugged helplessly. “She didn't want Steven or Jasper to see.” 

 

“...There’ve got to be smarter ways to do this than this.” Amethyst was looking up at the speck as well.

 

“She didn't take any suggestions. So this is her option.” Peridot looked down, pressed an ear to her phone and looked up again. “Lapis, you ready to go?”

 

“Going to send my phone home now, then I’m falling. See you in a while Peri!” There was a flash of blue near the speck, and Peridot glared hard at the tiny blue dot in the sky. 

 

“Here we go…” She whispered, just as the spark halved in size. All of us swallowed hard as the speck started growing.

 

Amethyst looked away, but Peridot’s cold mask of technicallity had slipped over her features, letting this occur. When the blue gem got close enough to see her features, a cross between exhilarated and terrified, I looked away too.

 

There was a loud, startlingly so, impact, and I felt sand hit my legs. A flash of light and a slight  _ pow  _ noise sounded before Amethyst and I slowly turned back to where Peridot was kneeling in the sand, her former mask shattered, holding the gem of her probable girlfriend in her arms, slowly brushing the tears and sand off the blue stone with her thumb. 

 

“...C’mon Peri.” Amethyst began before I could say anything. “...Let’s go home.” She walked up to the smaller gem, placing a hand on her shoulder before pulling her to her feet and leading her slowly toward the house.

 

Numbly, I followed. 

 

Twice in two weeks was starting to get a little crazy.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

Steven had lost it when he heard about Lapis. 

 

I’ve never seen him that distressed before. It was rather scary. 

 

Peridot ‘crashed’, to use a human term, at our house for almost a week while she waited for Lapis to reform. During that period, Peridot didn’t do much but sit on the couch in a fat teal sweater and stare at the blue gem. Steven often joined her, and in the process, got the green gem sort-of addicted to Doritos. The sweet chili ones were her favorite, and I had a strange feeling that Lapis would be buying them at her next grocery run. I was just relieved that neither one was panicking anymore.

 

Jasper came over to our house one day at Garnet’s request, and Amethyst went to the loft with her, the two ‘sisters’ having a chat. 

 

It felt strange, their relationship. Formerly insults and hatred, now love and acceptance, apologies and caring. In their own eyes, each was a failure, but to eachother, they were perfect. 

 

I was contemplating this as Lapis’ gem started glowing. 

 

“Jasper! Amethyst it’s happening!” Steven gasped as Peridot shot up from the couch, watching the other gem, floating a good 5 feet off the ground.

 

Lapis’ long limbs unfurled from her body, stretching out as her hair formed in a blaze of light. All of us blinked in shock. Formerly, Lapis’ hair had been short and wispy. Now, it was a long shock of it that reached to her lower back. She touched down onto the floor, her feet showing first. Formerly bare, she now had some kind of wrap in a pale dark blue, the tip of the covering on her left foot pointing up in the back, and pointing up in the front of the right. The wraps just covered the middle of her sole, letting most of her foot and her heel show. 

 

The next thing to show was a deep blue, metallic choker that seemed to glow at her neck. The color expanded downward, revealing a tight-fitting tank top, not unlike her original one, but this one had a huge, midnight blue star in the dead center, the bottom of the tank top cutting upward slightly on her chest. The light started to fade along her arms, revealing them to be bare except for neon blue wrapped tape around her hands and deep sea-teal cross-wraps on the elbows. Similar crosses appeared on her knees. The color continued to show around her body, showing a dark blue ring wrapped around her stomach, before showing her skirt. 

 

I had heard her complain about her skirt before, but this…

 

Rather than long all the way around, the skirt seemed like a tailcoat in one piece, extending down to her ankles in the back, then rising up to meet again at the middle of her thighs, the outside being the same pale-dark blue of the feet covers, and the inside the same neon as her wraps. 

 

Lapis landed, mere seconds before forming her wings. 

 

And I’ll admit, I hadn’t expected this one. 

 

Rather than her previously formless water wings, the wings were made of ice, frozen perfectly into a dragon’s skeletal wing form with water as the membrane. She flapped them once, before deforming them into her back, and turning around. 

 

The only thing I could think of at that second was that she looked like a warrior princess.

 

“L-la-la…” Jasper began, trying to pick her jaw up off the floor. “LaPIS HOLY SMOKES!” She shouted, staring at the other gem. 

 

“Whoa…” Peridot gasped with a smile.

 

“Huh, I look great in this thing…” Lapis muttered, looking her new skirt up and down. 

 

Steven shot off the couch and hugged her, nuzzling into the other gem’s chest like he did sometimes to me. 

 

“You came back!”

 

“Of course Steven!” Lapis grinned. “I just needed some time to get everything set up.”

 

All of the gems gathered around Lapis except Garnet and I.

 

_ All this joy, all this happiness… _ I couldn't hold down the feeling of dread for this. 

 

_ Something’s going to go wrong. _


	3. Jasper’s Realization - By Amethyst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper's new form.

Well I’m fucked.

 

That was my first thought, seeing Jasper. 

 

Wow that started brutal. Like painful. 

 

Ok Amethyst, roll it back. 

 

To the other Crystals, I’m just the little kid. I'm younger than any of the others, and I know that. 

 

To Homeworld, I’m just the little deep-cut failure. 

 

See why I’ll never fit in?

 

I know it looks like I’m the comedic relief of this little rebellion, and that I look like I’m just here for shits and giggles, but sometimes I wonder if I would’ve been better off with Homeworld. 

 

I mean, look at what they did to Jasper. 

 

They trained her, trained her for war, for fighting.

 

I was trained to give a fuck. 

 

And I can’t even do that. 

 

Whoop-de-fucking-do. 

 

But then yeah, I met what I was supposed to be. At first, it was hate. Rage. For me, what I could’ve been. My own uselessness. 

 

Then, when Jasper actually started being herself, I learned that it was hate for her too.

 

To her, I had people who cared about who I was. Who wanted to fuse with me. Who wanted to live with me. 

 

She was jealous of me. And I was jealous of her. 

 

We wanted each other’s places. 

 

Now, though, I was on a couch, in the middle of the night, teaching the gem I thought I despised how to play Uno.

 

Like, do you understand how wrong and yet right this feels?!

 

She hates earth for being defective and making Homeworld think less of her, I hate earth for fucking me over and making me a 4’ 4’’ MIDGET QUARTZ.

 

But back to the card game.

 

“Hah!” Jasper proclaimed as she slapped down a +4 wild card. “I choose blue!”

 

“Aw damn…” I groaned. I didn’t have a single blue card in my hand, even after I drew four new cards. “You’ve got to be kidding me Jasper.” I started drawing cards, thankfully only drawing 2 before I placed a blue 2 on top of the messy playing deck.

 

She responded with three blue skips then a blue four.

 

“Take that, little sis.” She smirked at me, demanding a challenge. 

 

“Oh, bring it.” I slapped down a +4 wild that I had held onto for a while. “Red.” I purred with a smirk. 

 

“Oh shit.” Jasper sighed, and I rolled my eyes.

 

“No, that’s where you’d say ‘damn.’ ‘Oh shit’ is more a surprise thing.” I said as she drew four cards. 

 

“Y’know, earth cursing is hard.” She muttered, placing down a red 3.

 

“Admit it though, it's a little more violent than gem swearing though.” I shrugged and played a red 8.

 

“That’s the part I like about it.” Jasper placed down a green 8. 

 

“Yeah, they got a load of good words.” I considered it for a moment, tossing a green 6 into the pile. “Like, how do you create good curse insults? Just combine a swear and an object.”

 

“Umm… Cocklamp.” Jasper began, and I snorted as she set a green 2 on the lump of cards.

 

“Th-that’s a good one.” I laughed, pulling a green 9 on the 2. 

 

“Asscomb. Dickbottle.” Jasper continued, and I snorted a little harder with each one. “Er… Bitchhat, fuckspeaker, shitchair, crapcase…”

 

I was full on cackling by the time she said ‘shitchair’, falling off the couch and laughing so hard it was almost painful.

 

“Oh shit, you ok?” Jasper asked, leaning down as I gripped my stomach and laughed. 

 

“H-hey you used it right this time!” I managed through my laughter. 

 

“Hey, look at that, I did. Jasper, swear master!” She stood up and did a heroic pose that said exactly how much she didn't know how to do a heroic pose and I started laughing harder. Jasper started laughing too, when a loud bang on the wall made us both jump.

 

“My god you two shut up!” A very irritated Lapis called through the wall. “I know you two are trying to have a good time but some of us are freaking tired! Shush a bit or get out!” The ocean gem snapped. 

 

Recently, Peridot and Lapis, assisted by Jasper, had completely remade the Barn to have it’s own separate rooms in the lofts, including a larger, fourth room that was used for games and the TV. They had also strengthened the barn in general, some new screws and bolts, some sheeting in certain areas to deflect attacks… All in all, it made a nice base. I spent a good bit of my time here.

 

“Mm, guess we aren’t welcome here sis…” Jasper picked me up and placed me under her arm, much to my chagrin, but I wasn't much of a struggle when I was still laughing. “We’ll go out to the cliffs or something.” She carried me under her arm like a teddy bear or something, walking out of the front door and into the cold, silent night air. There, she set me down again, and I morphed into a panther without a second’s hesitation. 

 

Jasper studied my form for a second, then shifted into a slightly larger panther herself. The flash of light was blinding, but this time the orange gem managed to hold shape.

 

“Hey, you did it!” I flicked my tail, perking my ears. 

 

Jasper studied her new, faster form for a moment. “Hey, I did!” She cheered, and then fell over, her limbs not working like normal. “Gyahh!” She shouted, struggling to get back to her feet.

 

“It’s ok, just act like a cat!” I told her. 

 

“That doesn't help I don’t know how cats act!” Jasper yelped, struggling to get her body to move normally. 

 

“Watch me.” I lay down, mimicking her sideways position, then rolled over and stood up. Jasper watched that, then copied it as best she could. Amazingly, she made it to her feet. 

 

I spent a good three hours running up and down the beach, cackling when my sister tripped over her own paws. She gave me glares and growls, but never anything more. We were happy to let the wind give us wings, gliding over the sand like it was nothing. 

 

Then we saw Garnet. 

 

Instantly, I skidded to a halt, followed by Jasper. I stared upward at the fusion, who sat on the cliff that was on the edge of the huge, shadowy forest that surrounded the one side of the city. It was a spooky place, where a pair of eyes seemed to track your every move, constantly watching and observing. 

 

Jasper glanced up too, tilting her head curiously. 

 

That’s when it appeared. 

 

A sleek, smooth grey shape melted from the woods like a pool of mercury, tail flicking behind it as the shape solidified into four paws and a vulpine head, large, long ears folded politely back. The fox sat beside the fusion, who glanced at it silently. 

 

“Wha-” Jasper began.

 

“Sh.” I snapped, and pressed closer. 

 

“-is something wrong, Garnet?” 

 

I stopped dead. The voice was a whisper in the blackness, nothing more, but it was powerful, cold. Like a near-silent roar, all energy and fury and liquid grace. 

 

“...Lapis and Peridot have both taken Crystal gem forms, but not Jasper.” Garnet told the fox, briefly turning to it again. 

 

“Perhaps she is scared of retribution, maybe sh-”

 

I cursed mentally as the twig I had been putting weight on snapped. In a millisecond, the fox whipped around, and I thought I saw her turn into an almost graphite grey before vanishing into the forest behind her. Garnet stood up and looked around, searching for whoever had interrupted her conversation.

 

I stood stock still, my breathing stopped, and my eyes widened in fear… But then Garnet gave an angry huff, turned around as well, and stomped away. 

 

Neither of us moved for almost 5 minutes.

 

“Wh-what was that about?” Jasper finally asked, breaking the silence with less than a whisper. 

 

“I think… That was a gem of some kind.” I stared at the cliff again, morphing into my normal form. Jasper followed my lead, orange-yellow eyes glowing in the icy blue night. 

 

“A gem? In the form of a fox?” She asked, glaring at the place where the fox had been minutes prior, as if she could make it reappear by force of will alone.

 

“Yeah. It was talking to Garnet.” I left out the mention of Jasper in their conversation. 

 

“Ok then… Well, I wanted to talk to you.” She sat down, running a hand through her hair. 

 

“About?” I asked, leaning back and yawning.

 

“Changing forms.” 

 

I stopped yawning. My jaw literally snapped shut. 

 

“SHit!” I snapped, pressing my fingers to my mouth. I had bit my tongue pretty bad.

 

“Damn, you alright?” She asked, leaning in a little.

 

“You’d use ‘shit’, in that sentence.” I muttered, shaking my head and removing my fingers. “Jeez, I feel like Pearl.” 

 

“Sound like her half the damn time too.” Jasper replied. 

 

“That was the right use of ‘damn’. But… Reforming?” I gave her a sideways glance. 

 

“Yeah. Peri and Lapis already went through with it, but personally, I don’t know the implications when I’m… Ya know…” She gave a small shrug, signifying her past half-corruption.

 

“I get it. But… The only way I know of reforming is to poof.”

 

“Yeah, body damage to me though could… Screw things up.” Jasper rubbed her arm. 

 

“Why do you want to get a different look?” I leaned back on the rock, looking at the stars.

 

“Because I’m not a Homeworld Gem anymore. And…” She looked down at her usual outfit, in particular the yellow diamond on her chest. “I want this damn color off me.”

 

“Ah.” I nodded in response. “You thought of a different color?”

 

“...Pink.” She smiled, looking up as well.

 

“Oh.” I blinked in not-surprise. I mean, I knew that she would pick pink, but I didn't know she would say it outright. 

 

For a while, we sat in silence, staring upward at the stars. They twinkled brightly, making me wonder which star was Homeworld’s. 

 

“...Want to go into the forest?” Jasper asked with a smirk.

 

“Hell yeah.” I stood up.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

We stalked through the forest, hearing the steady ‘hoo hoo’ of an owl, eyes roving around the underbrush in the dark area. Jasper jumped slightly at my side, and I spooked a little with her. The birds continued singing no matter to our movements, deep within the forbidden forest.

 

“Jeez Jasper!” I hissed, turning to the other gem. Then I realized something was wrong.

 

Her eyes were huge, terrified. The faint yellow-orange glow in her pupils was dulled out of fear. Slowly, she pointed to a tree. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on making my night vision work for me. 

 

Claw marks. Recent claw marks, made deep and long on an exposed tree root. My breath hitched. They were too big for anything normal, not even Lion! 

 

“What the hell..?” I whispered, glaring at the marks.

 

“T-that isn’t good… Is it? What made those?” Jasper muttered, kneeling down. The shock had melted away, replaced with the soldier who knew how to investigate. She ran a finger through the slices. “...Any ideas?” She asked, looking back at me.

 

“I thought Lion, at first, but those are too big to be his. And besides, he doesn't go within half a mile of this place.” I shook my head. 

 

“They’re some kind of animal with long claws. Thick claws.” Jasper mumbled, rubbing her fingers together. I smirked. She had gone right into investigator mode. She stood up, looking at the briars and brambles around the area. Finally, she stopped and picked up a tuft of lead-grey fur. “...This the thing that you saw earlier?” She showed me the fur. Thick, coarse, not fluffy. Built for speed and movement, not graceful beauty.

 

“I think I saw it transform into a different shape earlier, and that looks like it's the same color as the second creature.” I ran a finger over the tuft. “Yeah, this is awfully harsh fur.” 

 

A small  _ crsh _ of leaves to my left.

 

I finally started to pay attention to the rest of the world around me.

 

The birds had stopped singing. 

 

The owl was gone.

 

Jasper looked around, glaring at the leaves. I was starting to get seriously bad vibes about this place. 

 

“...We need to leave.” Jasper hissed, turning me around and pushing me for the nearest exit.

 

“Wh-wha?” I gasped as she shoved me along. Jasper remained looking behind her as I looked up at her face. 

 

Jasper jerked, and I caught a glint of rainbow light behind us. “Go run go don’t stop GO!” She shouted, practically throwing me along. I didn't hesitate. I stumbled forward stiffly, starting to hit a speed. There was a ferocious roar and Jasper swore loudly, ducking and shoving me around. 

 

She summoned her helmet, eyes scouring the trees on the other side. I continued running, pushing my small body for every extra inch I could gain, pushing for every ounce I was worth. 

 

“SHIT!” Jasper screamed, and I felt her stumble into me. There was a shrieking howl, and a sharp shout of pain. 

 

Then a loud flash of light, blinding me and throwing me back, I felt a burst of pain light up my spine, exploding through my back. 

 

Then I knew no more.

 

I~~~~~<>~~~~~I

 

I woke up to Peridot’s concerned face above me. 

 

“Ugh… What..?” I began, slowly blinking awake, the light blinding, but not as much as what had happened in the forest.

 

“Amethyst!” Steven gasped, appearing at the edge of my vision. Peridot smiled widely.

 

“Welcome back to the real world!” Peridot said softly. 

 

I groaned again, throwing an arm over my face. “The heck happened?” I asked slowly, considering sleep again. 

 

“That’s what I’d like answered.” Garnet asked from the side. I glanced up, noticing her glare. 

 

“Look, I’m sorry we went in the forest, bu-”

 

“But nothing. I warned you to say away from there.” Garnet snapped, her Ruby showing. 

 

“Yeah, well, we were bored.” I growled in defense.

 

“And your ‘boredom’ got you unconscious for three days and Jasper poofed.” Garnet glared. I winced, noticing the quotes. 

 

“...Sorry.” I mumbled, looking away.

 

“Damn right you are.” I heard her mutter under her breath before standing and walking into her room, the door slamming behind her. 

 

“...Where’s Jasper?” I asked when she was gone.

 

“Look up, Amethyst.”

 

I removed the arm from my face, the light almost toxic. After a few unconscious growls, I finally got a look at her.

 

A dark, brown-red t-shirt, the ends of the sleeves a dirty pinkish. The same pink made a triangle in the center of her chest, and within that, a bright pink star. An orange-red belt separated the dark brown-red pants from the t-shirt, ending in red orange boots with reddish bottoms. The thighs had thick pink stars on them, shimmering pleasantly in the sun.

 

“...Nice look.” I threw my arm back over my face.

 

“Sorry for blowing you back ten feet. Steven said I gave you a hairline fracture.” Jasper looked slightly embarrassed.

 

“No wonder I feel awful…” I winced in realization. “...It fixed?”

 

“Amethyst, the wording is, ‘Is it fixed?’ Or ‘Am I fixed?’, not ‘it fixed.’” Pearl corrected. I growled at her. 

 

“Is. It. Fixed.” I spat every word, Pearl progressively cringing further with each one. 

 

I had a pretty good reason to feel like shit. Hairline fractures were considered more… Nondescript in the gem world. Rather than being complete damage, they more or less just fucked up the gem, emotionally. It’s the gem equivalent of a bad flu that doesn't go away. Ever. 

 

“Not fully.” Peridot smiled sadly. I made a nondescript angry-tired noise, closing my eyes. Hairline fractures, even with Rose’s healing abilities, were actually harder to heal than a normal break.

 

“Ah.” I muttered.

 

“You can go back to sleep if you want.” Steven ran a hand through my hair. 

 

“...Thanks Ste-man.” I mumbled, and let myself fall back into the comforting blackness, the calm before any storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well these first three were a shitstorm.
> 
> But I think I did ok!


End file.
